Based on one song that H.Schneiderman had recorded for the awesome "Christmas Songs" and "Lullabies" and "Folk Songs" series of SWR & Carus (which is so good, I want to have children because of it, pronto, just so I can expose them to it)... which was then expanded into this project. Last three tracks are of her parents singing the very songs they sang their daughter when she was a little girl.

First time with Kertesz, or first time hearing the symphony ever? Because I still remember the first time I heard the symphony... I was 14, I think, and it was so dark and malevolent that I ended up frightened. Nowadays it's one of my favorite works ever, of course, but I still occasionally hear a performance that makes me feel afraid!

First time ever. I still have a lot of gaps when it comes to Dvořák, but the 7th definitely made a very strong first impression. Looking forward to giving it another run, perhaps with a different recording.

Cimarosa, Domenico (1749-1801) - Keyboard Sonatas, V.1/2 w/ Victor Sangiorgio on a modern piano. Cimarosa, of course, was MOST famous as an opera composer - these KB works were discovered in the 1920s; most are in 3 movements, short, charming & melodic, and certainly not of the complexity of the latter solo sonatas written by Haydn or Mozart. Excellent review of Vol. 1 HERE -

Today's listening log looks absolutely nutso, because 1. I listened to a lot of very short pieces, 10-12 minutes each, 2. I listened to four CDs I'm reviewing for MusicWeb, and 3. I mostly sat around the house. So the result is this gigantic behemoth of a Saturday listen:

I will say this, the Constantin Silvestri Complete EMI Recordings box set which arrived in my mailbox today is already, after just a few listens, promising to be a contender for my 2013 Purchase of the Year. Cannot WAIT to hear the rest.

Gold Knight

Piotr Chaikovskii--Symphony No.3 in D Major, Op.29 {"Polish"}, performed by the Leonard Bernstein conducted New York Philharmonic.Vaughan Williams--Symphony No.4 in F Minor and Symphony No.6 in E Minor, both featuring the Adrian Boult led New Philharmonia Orchestra.Gustav Mahler--Symphony No.4 in G Major, with soprano Reri Grist and the New York Philharmonic under Maestro Bernstein.

*This symphony is starting to make a much more immediate and positive impression on me. Second time listening to it today!! Could this eventually become part of my vast favourites of Shosty's symphonies? Perhaps so! Especially that incredible final movement!

Yes, it has been a very, very popular idea from Romanticism onwards. Almost a dogma, I'd say: the eternal Bach.

Although my opinion stems from listening and watching a variety of YouTube videos and not, say, a 150-year old adage. Nonetheless, it's interesting to know that this view has persisted for such a long time.